| Secured loans in the UK.
At some or the other stage of our lives we need to
fund a need that we can’t manage with our current
cash flow. These needs could be a vacation abroad, a
new house, a car or a family function. This is the stage
when loans come to our help.
Types of loans
Loans could be secured or unsecured. Unsecured
loans are not backed by any security or collateral. Credit
cards are examples of unsecured
loans. Secured loans
are backed by a collateral or security and hence the
term ‘secured’. The collateral could be a
house in case of a home loan or the vehicle in case of
a vehicle loan.
When does a borrower need these loans?
UK residents borrow billions of pounds every year. Borrowers
take these loans to meet the high standard of living
which they may not be able to do at their current income
level. It is a very practical option to take a loan these
days. The interest rates are low, easy repayment option
are available and above all if a borrower does a bit
of shopping around he/she can get the best deal.
Interest rates on a secured loan
In case of secured loans the interest rate is known
as annual percentage rate or APR. APR in case of a particular
loan depends on a host of factors like borrower’s
credit history, loan amount, loan duration and some times
on the lending institution.
The interest rates are the lowest on secured personal
loans in the UK. APR typically ranges from 6% to 25%.
As a borrower you may get the best interest rate if you
have a very good credit history backed by collateral.
Real estate properties command the lowest APR since the
property serves as a collateral and there is less depreciation
in the property. Other forms of loans like vehicle loans
command an interest rate that is greater than that in
case of real estate.
How is the collateral handled by the lender?
The lenders do not interfere with the property or collateral
being used by the borrower. Only when borrowers do not
pay up the installment amount over a long period of time
and after repeated reminders the lenders take the possession
of the collateral. Getting a secured
loan in UK is cheap
and very convenient. Secured loans are economical for
the borrowers because of the low
interest rates.
How does a secured loan create a win-win situation
for everyone?
If you have no established credit
history or a bad credit
history then secured loans are the type of loans that
you should look out for. Immigrants to UK might face
this problem because of a lack of an established credit
history for them. Lending institutions find it convenient
to give out secured loans rather than unsecured
loans by virtue of the collateral that the borrowers offer.
The borrowers are also less likely to default the loan
because of the fear of losing their collateral. This
way secured loans in UK are creating a win-win situation
for everyone.
A borrower with a good credit history, collateral and
good income sources can expect loan amounts to the tune
of 125% of his/her property value.
How customer oriented is the whole process of
obtaining a loan? In UK the borrowers have very flexible borrowing options
which are quite similar to the unsecured
loans. The lenders
have also started offering web based application methods.
The whole process is being made with minimum documentation
and time of the customer. In UK
a secured loan processing
takes around 14 days and the borrower can choose to cancel
the it anytime during this period without incurring any
penalties. |